Copyright mirror
Most university students will be all too familiar with the number of free condoms given out during freshers week promoting safe sex - but a study has shown more than a third of students aren't having sex at university and are breaking the stereotype. Universities were once renowned for flings, drunken one night stands and people playing the field, but now a shock study by Erobella of 2,000 students across 79 universities has revealed there has been a dramatic change in sexual behaviour by students - showing they aren't living as wild sex lives as they once were. More than one in three students (37%) admitted they have no sex at all during an average month , making celibacy more common on campus than casual hook-ups. It seems as if casual hook-ups are no longer a thing, as the study also found that 44% had just one sexual partner in the past year, while 30% had none at all. Brenda Jensen, Head of Data & Research, Erobella said: " For me, the biggest takeaway from this study is that the data contradicts the university student stereotype entirely. There’s a widely-shared perception of universities as sexually charged environments, but our research suggests that this is simply untrue.” There has been a growing trend since last year for Gen Z women openly saying they are going "boy sober" meaning they are avoiding any time of romantic integration. Heterosexual women are now embracing celibacy and fully abstaining from having sex until they find their partner they are going to marry. Last year, the term "celibacy" racked up more than 39,000 mentions on TikTok, while “boysober” amassed 25 million. In London, celibacy was the fastest-growing desire on the sexual kink dating app Feeld, with a 235% rise of the tag on profiles - with users making it clear their intentions of abstaining from sex. For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp , for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror's Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox. Erobella's study further found that a whopping 65% of London School of Economics (LSE) students are in committed relationships, compared to just 35.1% at University of West London. That means LSE students are almost twice as likely to be loved up than their counterparts across the capital. University of Salford was crowned Britain's most faithful campus, with students averaging just 0.36 partners per year, while students at University of Sunderland reported 2.91 partners annually, making it eight times more than Salford. While students at LSE are most likely to be in committed relationships, they were reportedly having sex 4.90 times per month, but at other universities students rack up multiple partners yet have sex less frequently, proving that playing the field does not necessarily mean more action between the sheets. Scottish universities including Strathclyde, Aberdeen and St Andrews emerged as hotbeds of monogamy, with students far less likely to have multiple partners. Even prestigious Russell Group universities showed wildly different results, with Durham among the most committed campuses whilst Loughborough students take a more casual approach. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
